Almost all of the world's shallow-water coral reefs, including the Great Barrier Reef, are at serious risk of collapsing as ecosystems within the next 50 years as the planet heats up, according to an assessment by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, The Guardian reports.
The study of 127 reef regions found about a quarter of reefs in more than 80 countries are already critically endangered. When the expected effects of warming were included, that figure rose to 96 per cent. It assumed about 2.7C of warming by 2100 and did not fully reflect the latest global bleaching event.
Reefs host a quarter of known marine species and support hundreds of millions of people. The scientific lead, Dr Mishal Gudka, called the findings alarming but not hopeless, saying rapid cuts in fossil fuel use and local conservation could still help reefs survive.
Source: The Guardian
